Federal agents and protesters clashed Friday, Sept. 19, outside the Broadview Immigration facility in Broadview, on Chicago’s west side, during the fourth demonstration in recent weeks against U.S. President Donald Trump’s ‘Operation Midway Blitz’.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents dragged and knocked down protesters in front of the building as a crowd blocked the entrance to the parking lot, activists charged.
Protests in Chicago end in confrontation
ICE facility in Broadview, IL is under assault by a paid left wing mob, right now
I’m calling on @realDonaldTrump to federalize the (IL) National Guard to protect our Ice agts from these radical leftists
(DHS) @Sec_Noem and President Trump need to see this 👇 Pass it on folks pic.twitter.com/MELa0XvIkH
– @Chicago1Ray 🇺🇸 (@Chicago1Ray) September 19, 2025
Local media reported that agents sprayed chemical agents against protesters at protests in Chicago.
Shortly after 8:30 a.m. local time (13:30 GMT), armed federal agents on the roof of the facility fired pepper spray and a chemical agent, believed to be tear gas, to disperse protesters as a vehicle attempted to leave the facility.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reported the arrest of three individuals.
One of those captured was blocking a vehicle before being physically removed by agents who sprayed a chemical irritant.
The protester reportedly grabbed the chemical agent and attempted to throw it at the immigration officer.
Another was taken to the center and handcuffed on the floor.
Kat Abughazaleh, who is running for Congress in Illinois’ 9th district, told the media that the agents pushed her and sprayed her with gas.
“We all came together, we didn’t let the van through. ICE came in and tried to pass us with the car; they almost ran someone over,” said the Democratic hopeful.
“We didn’t move, we stood our ground, and that’s when they used the pepper bullets and tear gas.”
Protesters claim that agents attacked them
Protesters claimed that throughout the morning officers fired pepper spray, rubber bullets and smoke grenades at them.
“We don’t have guns, we have banners, chants and songs,” the activist said.
“They treated us as if we were in a war zone,” Abughazaleh added.
Demonstrators and reporters had to flee from the cloud of smoke, according to people present at the scene.
Some were seen sitting or lying on the ground, in tears.
Around noon, the head of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Gregory Bovino, appeared at the gates of the facility, accompanied by armed and uniformed agents.
Bovino is leading a second immigration enforcement operation in the Chicago area, dubbed ‘Operation General’.
In a statement, DHS claimed there were more than 100 people at the protest, although a CBS News Chicago video showed only a few dozen.
They said the protesters assaulted law enforcement, fired tear gas, punctured tires and blocked the entrance to the building, calling them “rioters.”
Other Illinois politicians joined the protesters, including the state’s lieutenant governor, Juliana Stratton, in denouncing ICE’s violent repression.
“People are here to protest peacefully,” said Stratton, who is running for Senate.
Miren lo que hemos estado viendo en las últimas semanas aquí en Chicago. Están secuestrando a la gente de las calles, metiéndola en camionetas sin identificación y sin el debido proceso
Juliana Stratton
Broadview, in the eye of the hurricane
Just now: Woman protesting outside Broadview ICE facility is shot repeatedly with sting balls, thrown to the ground, and ultimately maced point blank in the face as she attempts to block ICE agents from leaving the facility in a vehicle. pic.twitter.com/pOHagtAPw9
– Ford Fischer (@FordFischer) September 19, 2025
The Broadview immigration facility has been targeted by protesters since the beginning of ‘Operation Midway Blitz’.
Last week, protesters clashed with heavily armed officers in military gear.
Some of them were hit by chemical agents and rubber bullets.
The president of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, Lawrence Benito, lamented the ICE onslaught in Chicago in a statement on Friday, September 19.
Hemos presenciado a agentes emboscando a personas en paradas de autobús, secuestrando a trabajadores de sus empleos -incluido un conocido vendedor de flores- e incluso sacando a padres de automóviles mientras sus hijos quedaban atrás
Lawrence Benito
He recalled that ICE killed Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez, an undocumented man of Mexican origin, after he left his children at the daycare center.
Apparently, the migrant panicked, did not respect the order to stop at a street checkpoint, and after running over and dragging a federal agent – who was seriously injured – was shot and killed.
With information from EFE
